Bingham County Rape Investigations on Par with State

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — Rape investigations in Bingham County — where the sheriff recently made disparaging remarks about rape investigations — are on par with the rest of the state.

The Post Register reports that between 1995 and 2014, the Bingham County Sheriff's Office had a 75 percent cumulative clearance/arrest rate for statutory rape. In the past 10 years, the office saw 22 reports of statutory rape, clearing five and making five arrests. Those numbers are in line with state per capita averages.

Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland last month made national headlines when he suggested most rapes his department investigates are "actually consensual sex." He had been asked about the issue in connection to a new Idaho law that sets standards for processing rape kit evidence. He later apologized for his statement and said his office takes rape cases seriously.